Europe 2022

Typical scene The canal has a bridge to cross the river  All bike path all day. Three days of lovely canal path riding, only one section was closed with a detour up into the hills. The surface changed a bit as the department responsible for the path changed. A few brave souls like us, laden with gear and lots of runners and locals using the path. The days were very similar. The first two around 60 each day and today 69 into Toulouse. We camped at a commercial site and a local free site established for cyclists with a toilet and a hot shower but no way to pay. We did have a “Louisiane “ pizza at the local restaurant to put something back into the economy. All in all the Garonne canal path is a joy. It does slope but it’s in quantum jumps. Each lock has a little climb then it’s flat till the next. In places there are 5 in succession others, only 1 in 5 Kms. We arrived at our new favorite hotel chain, ibis suites, which is always slap bang in the middle of town. 

There are compensations for arriving early  What if you turned right on the canal instead of left and only realised your mistake after 20 Kms when the map finally showed you Bordeaux closer than when you started. So you would have cycled 43 Kms to get back to where you started. Yesterday we cycled 74 so in theory, we should have been able to cycle the extra 42  to the next camp site. But after about 8 Kms neither of us had any energy at all to continue especially when a convenient camp site appears so we threw in the towel with our muscles being firmly ruled by our mood. So we’re sitting by the canal restoring our mood with wine.

 Lovely path out of Bordeaux into the countryside a big arc on a rail to trail with an excellent surface. It was a bit miserable in the rain though, we hid a couple of times under trees and bridges and ended up in a sweet town square with a restaurant that was doing a roaring trade serving wet, hungry cyclists. Mostly young guys in Lycra. But I had a hearty pasta dish and we were at least dry for a while. The last 19k were quite another matter though. In the countryside up and down, hill after hill some with the dreaded double chevrons ( >10% ) incline. We only pushed up one. The day ended in a great campsite by the river. It was still raining until 6pm. We popped up the tent and went into town which turned out to be very pretty and historic with a top notch French restaurant which was perfect for a romantic dinner. It rained all night but we were dry in the tent and our bags yet again proved the point of buying the best ones possible.

 It is wine festival in Bordeaux! We spent two nights in a cabin on a seeet campsite in order to arrive for the event. As usual our luck held and during the first night s horrendous storm passed through, even our bikes were under cover. We cycled to town and dined on our porch, on roast chicken with a bottle of Bordeaux. We left on Thursday to travel the D801 which, though classed as a road is really a cycle path. This means it is regularly maintained. The ride was fast but unremarkable which is a good way to cover a lot of ground. We arrived at our hotel by 1:30 having picked up our wine glasses for the tastings at the festival. Then we  went to see the Elvis movie and a outdoors bar for a late snack.

 We booked a 3 night stay in Bordeaux as it’s the weekend of the wine festival. But we didn’t need three days to get there. So we rode half the way to a lovely campsite where we have a cabin for two nights, it will take that long to get the sand out of our stuff. Wonderful flat paths made the 65 Kms ride pass very smoothly except for the fallen trees from last nights storm. As we rolled up to the seemingly impassable tree the local works department arrived with chain saws and cleared a way for us. We are now ensconced in a lovely cabin which is half the cost of an hotel room. Rain tonight but meanwhile we can dry out the tent and get some of the ****ing sand off.

 A short day of riding punctuated by a very nice ferry ride. The bike infrastructure was fantastic, roads shut and turned into bike lanes lots of great places to ride. We arrived at the ferry about an hour early, there was already a long line of campers waiting because the nearest bridge is in Bordeaux 60 Kms away. After the ferry we stopped at a remarkable campsite where we had a pitch right on the ocean. It was beautiful but was a bit spoiled by a huge storm which found us sitting in the tent making sure it didn’t get blown away. 

 Flat much cooler and dry. That’s on the plus side on the downside it was really windy. The morning was a bit difficult because of the wind. The extra effort needed really causes your leg muscles to ache. However we stuck with it because what else are you going to do? As we left the ocean behind the wind became less powerful but this being Sunday in France nothing was open. We did find a huge flea market ( that’s a long market not a man selling large insects). We eventually reached our short cut saving 20 Kms. But the bridge looked crazy busy. Then we noticed the hanging bridge next to the road bridge. This is the last working example in France and was built in 1900. It cost us 2€ to cross and on the other side a guy was cooking fresh crêpes which were a treat. The afternoon had us wandering around swampland again and though it wasn’t as hot as it has been we wished there was more shade. The campsite is nice and as a “special” treat we cycled a mile to eat at McDonald’s, the only t...

 46 kilometers. We woke at 5:30 and managed coffee and pack the campsite by 6:15. We decided that we would avoid the worst of the 34C heat by getting the work done before lunch. We sailed along the mostly flat path, using Komoot to guide us we had the usual mix of paths with the odd highway scare show thrown in. We had 800m on a really busy road and about 2 more on the side of the same road. But the rest was easy and we arrived in La Rochelle by 10:15 just in time for a great brunch. The hotel had a room ready by 12:00 and we are in the A/C.

 58 hot kilometers. Day started ok, lovely coffee in a small cafe then a lot of beautiful bike paths. We bought lots of water as we had finished 1.5 l each. We sought refuge in a super U, think french Walmart, and bought lunch which we ate at a nice rest stop in the shade. After that the heat climbed and every little hill seemed like a mountain. We poured water over ourselves and drank a lot and eventually reached our second U of the day and managed to cool off a bit. The first two “campsites”were mobile home parks, no passing trade of any sort. Eventually we found the “grand R” which blessedly had a pool and a few slots for cyclists. Tomorrow’s heat is supposed to be higher than than today and Saturday even worse so it’s a hotel for two nights in La Rochelle.

 65kms. Through the dunes along the sea it was lovely. Nearly all cycle path and much of it shaded. Lots of other long distance cyclists many on electric cycles. A charming day ending at a campsite on the beach, we both just sat and watched the crashing of the waves and then the take out opened. Nice fatty fried food!

 Day of 2 shortcuts. It is 27 Kms round the peninsula on the approved route but only 12 when you cut across, 12 rather hilly Kms. But it saved us a bunch of time and got us to a little village by 12:15 which was lucky because the shop closes at 12:20 for 3 hours. We took our sandwiches to a very nice pine grove for a restful lunch. When we got back on the road again the wind had picked up and, for the first time this trip it was at our backs. We were in Marsh country, nice flat straight paths wandering through the landscape. We stopped for a bit of shade under a rare tree. We had intended to follow the route inland where it does a 30Kms semi-circle to avoid the marshes but the Frenchman who had also stopped for shade asked why don’t you go straight across there are far nicer campsites that way. So I pulled up Komoot and off we went, the downside was a little singletrack by the canal and about a mile of fairly busy road, but there was also a beer and wine store en route and with the...

 We took the north bank of the Loire out of Nantes and crossed on a free ferry downstream. Paths were good but the new tube I fitted was leaking which means there is something stuck in the tire that I didn’t find. At the start it was quite a slow leak, by the last 500m we pushed to the campsite. Anyways the big attraction of the day was the St Nazaire bridge a remarkable structure which some brave folk bike over..obviously not us. We also found a great supermarket where along with sandwiches we were able to buy a new tire (just in case) and some inner tubes. Fairly crappy campsite but I was pushing my bike so beggars can’t be choosers. I finally found the tiny bit of metal that, under load was just getting to the tube. Hopefully that’s the last flat for a while. 

 Last night we had a magical evening. Sitting on the banks of the Loire, a short walk from the campsite in a nice French restaurant drinking local wine as the sun sank between the hills. We wobbled back to the campsite. The cycling today was easy and straightforward the only thing odd was the number of police out in Nantes. We had a long list of stuff that needed doing, most of which we achieved within 20 mins. Having spent $300 in a local bike store finally replacing the porous handlebar bags we insist on buying with proper Ortlieb ones. So again a bottle of Rosé and, this time, an Indian meal in a lovely spot. We are happy campers.

The only important Nevis that we booked a ride on the mechanical elephant. Apart from that the days are similar… breakfast at a bakery, shandy by the river and a nice campsite at the end. This morning it was 100 Kms to Nantes, tomorrow only 50 to go. It’s nice to have some short days followed by a couple of days off. After Nantes we have a looser timetable. 

 The storm left the tent soaking so we spent a while drying it off. The first 25 Kms to Samour flew by. Lovely path and no real wind. In Samour we decided to take the road less travelled and follow the path on the left bank. It was shorter but quite narrow and muddy. We stopped for lunch with our feet touching the Loire. Crossing back over to the other side my legs reminded me how old they are so we had a longer stop than usual. Again where it not for the wind this would be easy cycling as it is so flat. After the rest the battle for the rest is really psychological.  This time I won and we persevered to end up in a lovely site.

 Off to Tours for a coffee. I paid using my Apple Watch the proprietor called to his wife… “James Bond”. First time anybody found it unusual. Pretty countryside which suffered badly in the storm with a number of huge trees down across our path. We lunched in Villandry ( we visited the gardens when we were here in 2018) and then onto the levee for the next 32 Kms. Someone zooms past shouts Bonjour and then we pass him sitting on a wall and he shouts “Shalom” first Israeli we have met. He only has two weeks so is traveling longer distances than us. After fighting the headwind for hours we arrive at a pretty, quiet campsite with a snack bar which provides dinner. Big rainstorm over night and I manage to leave my coat and jacket in side pockets on the bike. The gnats were also out in force, hence Yehudit’s mask